Page:Journal of the Right Hon. Sir Joseph Banks.djvu/406

348 men wear pretty tight, but it makes a kind of loose belt, in which they carry their knives, etc., and often many other things, so that it serves entirely the purpose of pockets. The other piece is tucked into this girdle, and reaching over the shoulders, passes down to the girdle on the other side, so that by opening or folding it they can cover more or less of their bodies as they please. The arms, legs, and feet of both sexes are consequently bare, as are the heads of the women, which is their chief distinction by which they are at once known from the men, who always wear something wrapped round theirs, which, though small, is of the finest material they can procure; many we saw had silk handkerchiefs, which seemed to be much in fashion.

The distinction of the women's dress, except only the head, consists merely in the manner of wearing their clothes, which are of the same materials and the same quality as the men's. Their waist-cloths reach down below the knees, and their body-cloths are tied under their arms and over their breasts. Both sexes eradicate the hair from under their armpits, a custom in these hot climates almost essential to cleanliness; the men also pluck out their beards, for which purpose the better sort carry always a pair of silver pincers hanging round their necks: some, however, wear a little hair on their upper lips, but they never suffer it to grow long.

Ornaments they have many; some of the better sort wear gold chains round their necks, but these were chiefly made of plated wire of little value; others had rings which, by their appearance, seemed to have been worn out some generations ago. One had a silver-headed cane, on the top of which was engraved, so that it had probably been a present from the East India Company. Besides these, beads were worn, chiefly by the men of distinction, round their necks in the form of a solitaire; others had them round their wrists, etc., but the women had the largest quantity, which they wore round their waists in the form of a girdle, serving to keep up their waist-cloths. Both sexes universally had their ears bored, but we never saw any ornaments in them,